Carom 8-ball
- Thread starter Slowhand
- Start date
Slowhand said:Is this a known game, or just something I invented?
In carom 8-ball, the only time that the tip of your cue comes in contact with the white cue ball is on the break. The object of the game is to sink the ball that you are hitting with your cue, in the pocket that you call. It's as if you were trying to scratch on every shot. You can't simply shoot your ball directly into a pocket, it has to carom off any other ball. If it doesn't carom off another ball then it will get spotted and it's loss of turn. Again, the only legal shot is when the ball that you hit with your cue stick falls in the pocket that you call after it makes contact with another ball.
The rules for the order that balls are pocketed, including open table and choice of solids or stripes, are the same as in 8-ball. Sinking the 8-ball after making your other seven balls wins the game. If the player shooting makes a legal shot and also pockets another ball, then that ball will stay down. If the shooting player fails to make a legal shot but slops another ball in, his ball will be spotted while his opponent's ball will stay down. The white ball must be on the table for every shot, if it falls in then it will be spotted before the next shot. Calling the cue ball in the corner pocket on the break is a legal shot, this allows the player to shoot again after spotting the white ball. The need for the white ball to remain on the table is evident when both players are shooting at the 8-ball, they need another ball to carom off of.
The reason I invented this game was for practice at caroms. In 9-ball, situations arose where I had an option to carom off of the lowest ball to sink the 9. In 8-ball, there were situations where a pocket was blocked by an opponents ball and I needed to first short rail my ball then carom off his to pocket my ball. It also helped with getting a better feel for tangent lines and Q-ball control.
I haven't played this game in years, but I believe it taught me some valuable lessons.
A friend of mine once ran a rack in five shots, not counting the break, making two of his balls at a time. I was very impressed.
This game has been around for many years. I have played this game for about 20 years and it is a valuable drill. Especially for tangent lines, using all kinds of English and follow and draw. We call it Goofy Pool, Carom Pool or Scratch Pool. Of course, we call the ball and the pocket. Three exceptions to your version:
1. I take every ball off the cue ball. Cue ball scratches are spotted and one of your balls also get spotted. I break with the 1 (CB is racked in the head ball spot) and try to scatter the pack while making the 1 ball.
2. Second exception is that the caromed ball does not have to go in, but can make another ball. Let's say you have a ball hanging in the side pocket. If I draw my ball off the CB and draw it into the hanger, it is a legal shot. When you use force follow, this is very useful to watch the path of your "cueball' to make either your 'CB' or another ball that couldn't be made on a straight carom. Same if I glance off the CB, go 3 rails and make a hanger in the corner, etc. There are infinite variations of this shot. That's why I like it because you can get very imaginative! If the CB is hidden, then you also have to figure out tangent lines on kicks, which helps your defensive kicking. This taught me how to play safe caroming off a ball 1 or more rails too - angles and speed.
3. The ball you hit (your 'cueball') can hit a rail(s) first to be pocketed off the CB. For instance, another 3 rail kick, this time hitting the rails first instead of the CB first as in point 2, then going off the CB sitting near your destination pocket with a sweet kiss. Or going rail first off the backside of a ball to pocket it.
I showed Louie Lemke how to play it for the first time and he ran the rack on me with some fantastic shots, back around 1990. This picture is taken from MNBilliards.com
When I do drills, I warm up by throwing all the balls out and try and loosen up by just making balls in rotation. Then I line up 9-15 balls up and down the center of the table on 1/2 of the table and do crossbanks at various angles and speeds, then do the other side. Then I do them lengthwise, both sides. Then I throw out the balls and do every goofy combo I can think of, so that I will never be intimidated by a combo. Then I throw out the balls and put the CB in the middle of the table and try and run out by caroming everything off the CB as described above. By now, after about an hour, I am seeing the spot on the balls very well. Unfortunately, in tournaments, I don't have the luxury of getting in all this quality practice. lol
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